3D atomic imaging by internal-detector electron holography

High-precision phase retrieval method for speckle suppression based on optimized modulation masks

Traditional methods of coherent diffraction imaging using random masks result in an insufficient difference between the diffraction patterns, making it challenging to form a strong amplitude constraint, causing significant speckle noise in the measurement results. Hence, this study proposes an optimized mask design method combining random and Fresnel masks. Increasing the difference between diffraction intensity patterns enhances the amplitude constraint, suppresses the speckle noise effectively, and improves the phase recovery accuracy. The numerical distribution of the modulation masks is optimized by adjusting the combination ratio of the two mask modes. The simulation and physical experiments show that the reconstruction results of PSNR and SSIM using the proposed method are higher than those using random masks, and the speckle noises are effectively reduced.

Imaging biological tissue with high-throughput single-pixel compressive holography

Single-pixel holography (SPH) is capable of generating holographic images with rich spatial information by employing only a single-pixel detector. Thanks to the relatively low dark-noise production, high sensitivity, large bandwidth, and cheap price of single-pixel detectors in comparison to pixel-array detectors, SPH is becoming an attractive imaging modality at wavelengths where pixel-array detectors are not available or prohibitively expensive. In this work, we develop a high-throughput single-pixel compressive holography with a space-bandwidth-time product (SBP-T) of 41,667 pixels/s, realized by enabling phase stepping naturally in time and abandoning the need for phase-encoded illumination. This holographic system is scalable to provide either a large field of view (~83 mm2) or a high resolution (5.80 μm × 4.31 μm). In particular, high-resolution holographic images of biological tissues are presented, exhibiting rich contrast in both amplitude and phase. This work is an important step towards multi-spectrum imaging using a single-pixel detector in biophotonics.

Fourier single-pixel reconstruction of a complex amplitude optical field

Based on a Fourier single-pixel imaging (SPI) technique and interference between an unknown field and a reference beam, we implement amplitude and phase reconstruction of the unknown complex field. In this Letter, we use a chessboard pattern to divide the unknown field into the signal and reference parts. A high-speed digital micro-mirror device is used to modulate the relative phase between the reference and signal fields, and the SPI method is used to acquire the Fourier spectrum of the signal field. We experimentally reconstruct a 103×103-pixel complex amplitude field with a resolution of 68.4 μm. The single-pixel real-time wavefront detection is also implemented in the rate of four frames per second.

Wavefront sensing based on a spatial light modulator and incremental binary random sampling

A wavefront sensing method based on a spatial light modulator (SLM) and an incremental binary random sampling (IBRS) algorithm is proposed. In this method, the recording setup is built just by a transmittance SLM and an image sensor. The tested wavefront incident to the SLM plane can be quantitatively retrieved from the diffraction intensities of the wavefront passed through the SLM displaying a IBRS pattern. Because only two modulation states (opaque and transparent) of the SLM are used, the method does not need to know the concrete modulation function of the SLM in advance. In addition by introducing the concept of the incremental random sampling into wavefront sensing, the adaptability of phase retrieving based on the diffraction intensities is significantly improved. To the best of our knowledge, no previous study has used this concept for the same purpose. Some experimental results are given for demonstrating the feasibility of our method.

Direct Atom Imaging by Chemical-Sensitive Holography

In order to understand the physical and chemical properties of advanced materials, functional molecular adsorbates, and protein structures, a detailed knowledge of the atomic arrangement is essential. Up to now, if subsurface structures are under investigation, only indirect methods revealed reliable results of the atoms' spatial arrangement. An alternative and direct method is three-dimensional imaging by means of holography. Holography was in fact proposed for electron waves, because of the electrons' short wavelength at easily accessible energies. Further, electron waves are ideal structure probes on an atomic length scale, because electrons have a high scattering probability even for light elements. However, holographic reconstructions of electron diffraction patterns have in the past contained severe image artifacts and were limited to at most a few tens of atoms. Here, we present a general reconstruction algorithm that leads to high-quality atomic images showing thousands of atoms. Additionally, we show that different elements can be identified by electron holography for the example of FeS2.

X-ray fluorescence holography

X-ray fluorescence holography (XFH) is a method of atomic resolution holography which utilizes fluorescing atoms as a wave source or a monitor of the interference field within a crystal sample. It provides three-dimensional atomic images around a specified element and has a range of up to a few nm in real space. Because of this feature, XFH is expected to be used for medium-range local structural analysis, which cannot be performed by x-ray diffraction or x-ray absorption fine structure analysis. In this article, we explain the theory of XFH including solutions to the twin-image problem, an advanced measuring system, and data processing for the reconstruction of atomic images. Then, we briefly introduce our recent applications of this technique to the analysis of local lattice distortions in mixed crystals and nanometer-size clusters appearing in the low-temperature phase of a shape-memory alloy.

Fluorescence detection of white-beam X-ray absorption anisotropy: towards element-sensitive projections of local atomic structure

Projections of the atomic structure around Nb atoms in a LiNbO(3) single crystal were obtained from a white-beam X-ray absorption anisotropy (XAA) pattern detected using Nb K fluorescence. This kind of anisotropy results from the interference of X-rays inside a sample and, owing to the short coherence length of a white beam, is visible only at small angles around interatomic directions. Consequently, the main features of the recorded XAA corresponded to distorted real-space projections of dense-packed atomic planes and atomic rows. A quantitative analysis of XAA was carried out using a wavelet transform and allowed well resolved projections of Nb atoms to be obtained up to distances of 10 Å. The signal of nearest O atoms was detected indirectly by a comparison with model calculations. The measurement of white-beam XAA using characteristic radiation indicates the possibility of obtaining element-sensitive projections of the local atomic structure in more complex samples.